Original Old English:
Moððe word fræt. Me þæt þuhte
wrætlicu wyrd, þa ic þæt wundor gefrægn,
þæt se wyrm forswealg wera gied sumes,
þeof in þystro, þrymfæstne cwide
ond þæs strangan staþol. Stælgiest ne wæs
wihte þy gleawra, þe he þam wordum swealg.
English Translation:
A moth made feast of words. I thought that
a weird-wrought fate when I found that wonder out—
that the wyrm had swallowed away some song of men,
a thief in the shadow of the glory-firm speech
and of its strong support. The stealing guest was not
a mite the wiser though he had ruminated upon the words.
Emily Sun is a junior in Columbia College, studying English and Biology. She hails from heaven-candle-y San Diego, right by the whale-road.